The Missouri Breaks

Today’s work will take us roughly 35km downstream to another developed BLM campsite at Slaughter River. The bonus here (in addition the the pit toilets, of course) is that the site has a covered shelter if we happen to face inclement weather, unbearable heat, or some of the gale-like winds we’ve faced.

This morning we were on the water by 8:30 and there was a sprinkling of rain. As it turned out, that light rain chased us most of the day. Now, there are 2 things you have to remember about rain gear. First, if you’re paddling with any kind of intensity (like a 26’ voyageur canoes), then you sweat and the rain gear most often is not ‘breathable’…despite what the manufacturer claims. Second, I have yet to see anyone with rain gear that actually worked in any kind of serious rain. Nevertheless, we wore our rain gear as we huddled forward in our paddling motion down this beautiful river.

While yesterday began to reveal beautiful sculpted riverbanks and cliffs, today’s efforts pulled us past even more stunning geology. I can’t be certain, but I’m betting that this was the section of river that Lewis and Clark referred to in their Journals when Meriwether Lewis wrote on May 31, 1805:

‘ The water in the course of the river has trickled down the soft sand cliffs and worn it into a thousand grotesque figures, which with the help of a little imagination and an oblique view, at a distance are made to represent elegant ranges of lofty freestone buildings, having their parapets well stocked with statuary; columns of various sculpture both grooved and plain, are also supporting long galleries in front of those buildings. In other places, on a much nearer approach and with the help of less imagination we see the remains of ruins of elegant buildings; come columns standing and almost entire with their pedestals and capitals; others retaining their pedestals but deprived by time or accident of their capitals, lying prostrate in broken….others in the form of vast pyramids and conic structures bearing a series of other pyramids on their tops becoming less as they ascend and finally terminating in a sharp point.’

‘ As we passed on it seemed as if those scenes of visionary enchantment would never have an end; for here it is too that nature presents to the view of the traveller vast ranges of walls of tolerable workmanship….’

We witnessed this awe inspiring beauty too – Monumental Rock, Citadel Rock, the Seven Sisters, Hole-in-the-Wall. And between these markers, the riverbanks alternated between jutting escarpments and rolling Montana hills that remained so green and overly lush to the point, in places, the green was almost fluorescent.

Nature Note – at roughly midway through our morning paddle, we pulled ashore for a bit of a break, to stretch our legs, and to grab a quick bite to eat. As I was getting back into the canoe, I glanced down to the bit of shoreline gravel and there was the distinct exoskeleton of a crawfish.

About 1pm we pulled into our campsite at Slaughter River and off-loaded our gear and set up camp – all with the luxury of a covered and walled shelter. There was also ample room for lots of tents.

Since Fort Benton, we’ve met a young man (John) a few times as he canoes the river. He and his dog (Eddie) were at Slaughter River too, and we spent some time chatting about all things canoeing and his experiences traveling solo in this back country. Seems he’s been travelling this and other rivers for some time and working from time-to-time to finance the next leg of his journey. Tall, well spoken, Masters Degree in Wildlife Biology, physically strong, and with lots of thoughtful insights, he was a welcome addition to our old and familiar camp conversation. As evening rolled around, he made his way back to the riverbank and shunted his way into the current to a campsite further downstream.

This afternoon I gave myself a bit of treat – I took a bath in the Missouri River. The river water certainly isn’t potable – but it is suitable for bathing. It was a bit chilly, yes, but I can attest that it was no where near as cold as the bath in took in the Mackenzie River on our Arctic voyage in 2014! The bath set me up for sumptuously clean cloths and was a great way to end the day as I crawled into my sleeping bag.